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Friday, May 18, 2012

Food for thought III

In
Food for thought II reasons and conditions for change in the
technical division of agriculture have been listed. For those who
have done research at independent (i.e. non-corporate) sources
concerning efficient out-of-the-box agriculture methods, it will not
come as a surprise that aeroponic growing renders the highest yields
of healthy crop. This method has been selected by NASA to feed
astronauts that spend longer periods of time in space.

Failure
is not an option in space, because besides nutrition pills there is
no alternative means of supply of food. The type of aeroponics used
by NASA however has one disadvantage – there is no gravity to make
constructions functional. It means that ultrasonic transducers can
not be used to produce a fog that is needed to transport nutrients to
the plant root system. Instead the NASA system uses a pump and
nozzles to produce a spray.

The
disadvantage of nozzles is that they tend to clog and produce a spray
that consists of droplets that are too coarse to qualify for true
aeroponic standards. True aeroponics uses droplets smaller than 10
micron. Droplets larger than 10 micron will not bounce off the roots
at which the nozzle jets its spray and will form a film of water
around the roots, thereby blocking access to the roots for oxygen.

Oxygen
is important for the metabolism of crops. In view of this it is
necessary to know that before the industrial revolution (in the
1800's) the earth atmosphere contained 30% of oxygen. Due to
pollution that level today has dropped to between 17 and 20%. When
it drops below 10% humans will suffocate. The same goes for plants.
The lack of oxygen makes them grow slower and weakens their immune
system. Of course this is never mentioned in treacherous mainstream
media, because the pharmaceutical industry thrives on sick people
(because it is run by mentally sick people).

Oxygen
must be transported in the phloem inside the stem of plants. Energy
is required for that and this energy must be transported. To make
this possible negative ions are also required. ATP(adenosine
triphosphate) is the cell fuel molecule that makes cells work. So
supplying oxygen alone is not enough, negative ions also have to be
supplied.

Contrary
to popular belief aeroponics is not unnatural as mainstream media
would have you believe. Today orchids and mangrove trees still grow
according to the aeroponic principle. Most plants can be grown very
efficiently in a similar way. Efficiency does not stop here in
aeroponic growing. All benefits will be listed below and explained in
detail where necessary in the next 'Food for thought' blog entry.

Aeroponics makes the following possible that are not or to lesser degree present
in soil based growing methods:

Accurate control of supply of water, nutrients, ions and oxygen

Independence of seasonal influences and daylight sequence

Significant reduction of energy and water consumption

Reduction of waste products

No need to supply pesticides, bactericides, fungicides and fertilizers

Stacked growing arrangements in multiple stories

Indoor growing inside or close to urban areas

Improved protection against pollution, disease, fallout and theft

Improved protection against geophysical disaster

Improved protection against climatic disaster

The above mentioned leads to the following advantages:

Higher yield

Healthier produce

Tastier produce

Clean roots

Lower logistic cost

Lower commuter expense of workers

No soil degradation due to monoculture

Can largely be run on 12 Volt

Farmers and investors are encouraged to study these matters intesively and
seriously consider how to transit from soil based growing to
aeroponic growing. We do not just bear responsibility for the current
situation, but also for the generations that will come after us. More detailed information in the next 'Food for thought' blog entry that will be posted soon.